by Boris Johnson ruled out a snap general election on Friday as a new poll showed the extent of the Tories’ current political difficulties.
There has been speculation in Westminster that he could go to the polls to bolster his position if rogue Conservative MPs move to oust him.
But when asked in an interview with LBC’s Nick Ferrari if the idea of a snap election was “ridiculous,” Johnson replied: “Totally, totally.”
Then he added: “Let me give you the demarcation. Well, my job is to talk about the government’s agenda, to talk about policy, to talk about the UK, to talk about how we’re solving the cost of living problems, the cost of living crisis, to talk about everything that we do. what we are doing to strengthen the UK economy, our plan for a stronger economy, which is what I believe in.
“Speaking of leveling up, the agenda to move this country forward. That is what I want. That’s what I’m actually meant to talk about.”
His comments came as a new Ipsos poll for the Standard revealed the scale of the Tories’ current political problems, with the party trailing Labor for the biggest gap in a decade on who is “fit to govern”.
Sir Keir Starmer’s party has also extended its lead in Westminster voting intentions to 11 points from six last month.
Labor is at 41 per cent, up two points, the Conservatives at 30 per cent, down three points, and the Liberal Democrats up three to 15 per cent.
Just 21 per cent of adults say the Conservatives are “fit to govern”, down from 34 per cent in September and the lowest score in ten years, highlighting the party’s post-election woes, in place of labor marching.
Sir Keir’s party gets the backing of just 33 per cent as “fit to govern”, down from 27 per cent in September, but down from 38 per cent in November 2017 under Jeremy Corbyn and 40 per cent in April 2015 with Ed Miliband.
Two-thirds of adults say the Conservatives are divided, up from 44 percent and the worst since November 2017, though this may not be surprising given that just weeks earlier, 148 MPs voted against Johnson in a confidence vote. which he won with the support of 211. .
Just under half, 49 percent, say the Tories are outdated, up from 39 percent in September, while those who consider them “extremists” have risen from 22 percent to 30 percent.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson – In pictures
Just 16 per cent say the Tories have a good leadership team, also a minimum of ten years which is reflected in the Cabinet as a whole.
Just 12 per cent believe the Conservatives are keeping their promises, similar to 14 per cent in September, and also a ten-year low.
Labor has improved on some measures and is ahead of the Conservatives on most of them, including understanding the problems facing Britain, looking out for the interests of people like me and caring for people who really need it in the country.
Overall, however, he is either not showing the forward momentum under Sir Keir that many of his MPs are growing impatient to see or he is stepping out of the party image range he has had since 2015.
Just over a quarter, 26 percent, say they have a good leadership team, up from 20 percent in September, but again worse or no better than the spikes under Corbyn and Miliband.
Half of adults say they are worried about people who really need them in Britain, but this is significantly less than under Corbyn.
However, keeping promises has risen five points to 23 per cent since September, understanding Britain’s problems has risen from six to 45 per cent, and splitting has dropped nine points to 47 per cent, its lowest level. since 2015, a possible sign of how the Labor left has been marginalized.
Gideon Skinner, head of political research at Ipsos, said: “While it remains to be seen whether the Conservatives’ drop in voting intention figures is due to post-election gloom, a more worrying question for them is whether They are causing more serious damage. made his mark of the party in the eyes of the public.
“It’s not unusual to see Labor ahead on metrics like caring for people who really need you or looking out for the interests of people like you, it’s much more rare to see the Conservatives lagging behind on being fit to govern or having a good team of leaders.
“However, this mainly reflects the Conservatives’ ten-year lows on some of these scores, as well as the growing perception of division in their ranks – Labor itself still has more to do to convince the public that they are ready for the government”.
* Ipsos interviewed 1,059 adults in Britain by telephone between June 22 and 29. The data is weighted.
